Liverpool could be missing 9 players vs Aston Villa amid Mohamed Salah and Florian Wirtz doubts

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Liverpool could be missing up to nine players as it takes on Aston Villa in the Premier League, amid doubts over the fitness of attacking duo Mohamed Salah and Florian WirtzLiverpool forward Mohamed Salah reacts after picking up an injury against Crystal Palace.(Image: Gareth Copley/Getty Images)Liverpool could confirm its place in next season's Champions League by beating Aston Villa on Friday, though the Reds have not won at Villa Park since December 2024, when Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and Stefan Bajcetic were on the scoresheet.There was positive news on the injury front ahead of the fixture, though, with Arne Slot confirming that Salah could return and play a few minutes off the bench. Bajcetic, Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni, Conor Bradley, Wataru Endo, and Jayden Danns are all still missing."They [Villa] played Sunday, I think, so now we play on Friday, so I don't see being tired as a reason," Slot said during his pre-match press conference on Thursday."I think one of the reasons why they are in the final of the Europa League and doing so well in the Premier League is because they have a big squad with many, many very good players and a lot of players that are of the same level, same high level.Liverpool head coach Arne Slot(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)"If you don't have that, you're not able to go all the way to the final in the Europa League and do so well in the Premier League."And the good thing for them is that, at the moment, they have one or two injuries but not so many.

So, I think they are completely ready to go into Friday to go into Wednesday and then go into Sunday."Liverpool has often struggled to compete for the full duration of matches this season, with Slot admitting that his side needs to be better equipped to deal with the physicality next term.The Dutchman also spoke about his side's poor form on their travels ahead of the final away fixture of this year.Get LFC's 2025/26 season home and away kitsThis article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn moreFrom $100LFC.comSee the dealLiverpool's home and away strips for the 2025/26 season are the first in their new partnership with adidas.Fans can order jerseys in the US at Fanatics.com or via the LFC Online Store in both the US and across the world."That's one of the reasons why we're in the position we are in, and what I mean with that is we wanted to be higher or doing better this season, but we've dropped far too many points in away games," Slot explained."And as I said, that's maybe always happening in the end of the season, you constantly feel you are telling everyone the same things.

But dropping points in away games has mainly happened after playing in Europe, in games where usually Liverpool is able to win."Now Villa away doesn't matter if you play it after a game in Europe or after a week of rest, because this will always be a difficult game."But we've dropped points in away games against teams where we usually don't drop points and that has this season happened far too many times after playing in Europe. And that's one of the reasons why we have not qualified yet for the Champions League."